


On the House

by Warm_Chai



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Might have Major Character Death but lol I'm not sure yet, Non-Binary Cathy Parr, Other, Pan Anne Boleyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29761494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warm_Chai/pseuds/Warm_Chai
Summary: Cathy likes tea, Anne likes Cathy, and Kat smells romance.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr, Anne of Cleves/Katherine Howard
Kudos: 8





	On the House

For many months, Cathy would head to the coffee shop everyday to write. Ironically, Cathy wasn’t much a fan of coffee. They in fact preferred tea and blueberry muffins, which they found always went well with writing. 

Anne took note of Cathy. She admired the person who kept returning for more tea, or rather, to write more. So everyday, Anne opened up her shop and waited. She served her other regulars, and, when Cathy was just a bit late, scared herself into believing she would never see them again. By 8:30, Anne had blueberry muffins and a chamomile tea ready. Everytime Cathy held out some money, Anne said the same thing: “It’s on the house.”

Cathy noticed Anne too, but was quite content not talking too much to her. Well, maybe not ‘content’, but they never really intended to strike up a conversation with Anne. 

Cathy and Anne stayed with a mutual admiration for each other, and a quiet exchange every morning. They liked it that way.

Cathy’s friend, Kat, saw a little bit more.

* * *

“So, how’s it going with that coffee shop girl?” Kat asked.

“What do you mean?” Cathy had told their friends Kat and Anna about Anne a few times, but it wasn’t like there was anything going on between the two.

“Dude, you’re totally crushing on her, don’t deny it,” Anna chimed in.

“Guys, it’s not like that!” Cathy argued, blushing. “I mean, she’s kinda cute, I guess,” Cathy added after Kat and Anna gave them the ‘you sure?’ look.

“You should talk to her sometime,” Kat suggested. “There’s gotta be a reason she gives you free food.”

“I try to pay,” Cathy argued. They tried to pay almost every day, but everyday Anne told them that it was “on the house”. Cathy always found that a bit strange. Anne owned the coffee shop, and she had to be losing money by giving free food out every day like that. Come to think of it, it was quite odd for Anne to always deny their payment. 

Maybe Kat was right. And Anne always had their chamomile tea ready as soon as they walked in. Something was very off about the whole thing. 

“Think about that,” Kat left Cathy to ponder on their own.

* * *

Cathy wasn’t sure what to do. They were quite conflicted about the whole situation, honestly. The thought made them pretty uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough that Cathy didn’t come to the coffee shop for a whole week.

* * *

The first day, Anne got there at 6:00 AM, served her regulars, then prepared Cathy’s favorites. She sat down on the table and waited. 

One hour passed. It wasn’t like this was _that_ unusual. Cathy usually showed up between 7:00 and 9:00 AM. Anne wasn’t worried, but she made sure to heat their tea back up though, so it was nice and warm when they finally came.

Another hour passed. A bit strange, but Anne knew ro remind herself not to fear. Cathy had to show up soon. 

A third hour passed. At this point, Anne was worried. Cathy hadn’t been late in months. Anne couldn’t believe it. She missed them.

Slowly but surely, hour four whittled away. Anne started to feel sad. She longed for Cathy to return. Anne couldn’t believe it. She had never really felt such a desire for them. 

Each hour passed, each one dragging on longer than the last. 

Each day, Anne prepared extra muffins and a nice, warm tea. And each day at 5:00 PM, she ate Cathy’s food. It made her quite sad, longing for Cathy to come back. 

Finally, after a whole week, Cathy returned. 

“H-hi. Where’ve you been?” Anne asked as she handed them their tea.

Cathy blushed. “Um… just was out of town,” they stuttered. They handed Anne a ten dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

“No, it’s on the house. Welcome back… I never got your name?” 

“Catherine-you can call me Cathy. And thanks for the tea.”

“No problem, Cathy,” Anne smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes. 

Cathy stepped away and sat down to write. Maybe Kat and Anna were right. Come to think of it, they really liked her. _No way,_ they thought. _I can’t just walk up to her and ask for her number or something._ Cathy looked over at Anne. Anne looked back, making eye contact with them. Cathy quickly looked away, realizing the awkwardness of the situation. 

Cathy, unsure of what to do, pulled out their phone and texted Kat.

_Kat, help, how do I start talking to her?_

_Who?_

_Anne, the coffee shop girl._

_I don’t know, ask for another tea and give her a compliment?_

Kat was much better than Cathy at flirting. Cathy, well, had been single for quite some time. They didn’t feel much like they needed someone by their side like that. But Anne was, well, different.

“Hey, can I get another tea?” Cathy asked.

Anne grabbed a tea bag and started the kettle.

“I-I like your outfit,” Cathy stuttered.

“Thanks?” She responded, looking down at her stained apron and uniform. Cathy, realizing their mistake, shrunk down inside themself.

“It’s alright, I do that all the time,” Anne shrugged and grabbed Cathy’s tea. “It’s on the house,” she smirked. Cathy rolled their eyes. 

Cathy sat down and opened up their laptop. They sat there mindlessly, drifting off into a world inside their mind. 

Suddenly, they noticed someone sitting in front of them.

“Oh, erm, hi!” They said, shocked.

“It’s been a bit, you good?” Kat asked.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting you, what’re you doing here?”

“I heard that you’re in need of a lesson on flirting,” she replied.

“Oh my god, Kat, I’m fine.”

“Nah, I’m not leaving until you get her number,” Kat insisted.

“Please, Kat, I don’t want a partner right now,” Cathy argued.

“Sure, it’s not like you’re totally crushing on her.”

Anne walked up to the two and started talking to Kat. “Would you like anything today?” She interrupted their conversation.

Kat cheekily looked over at Cathy. “What would you recommend?”

“Um, I usually get the chamomile tea,” they answered, embarrassed.

“Eh, I don’t like tea,” Kat turned towards Anne. “I’ll have a black coffee, please.” Cathy rolled their eyes. 

“One black coffee, coming right up,” Anne smiled and turned away from the two.

“Kat, what the hell?” Cathy whispered. Kat shrugged and smirked. 

“Just let me work my magic,” she responded.


End file.
